Collard Greens Pupusas

other recipes

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2 hrs, plus overnight soak

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14 pupusas

Pupusas are a staple of Salvadorian cooking. I think of them as stuffed tortillas, or almost like flat tamales. I recently went all out and made pupusas with locally grown dried corn that I nixtamilized, ground, and then made into a masa. They came out really tasty, with a more rustic coarse texture, but definitely a lot of work. For this recipe, we picked up some Maseca from the grocery store to make it a little more manageable. You could also use canned beans instead of dried to make this recipe a little easier, but we typically prefer dried since we’re able to source dried beans both locally grown and zero-waste (reach out if you’d like the leads). A traditional must-have with pupusas is curtido, which is similar to a light cabbage slaw. Here is a recipe if you’d like to make that as well, but I find myself perfectly satisfied with a simple mayo dip to compliment the pupusas. You’ll likely have some extra filling at the end, fortunately making the masa and cooking the pupusas is relatively quick so you can make more later in the week!

Ingredients

from your CSA Club Share

from your pantry

  • Dried black beans – ½ c (~1 c cooked)
    • Cumin – ½ tsp
    • Coriander  – 1 tsp
    • Oregano – 1 tsp
  • Masa harina (Maseca, or other) – 3 c
  • Thinly shredded mozzarella cheese – ½ c
  • Oil
  • Salt
  • Mayo – ¼ c
  • Hot sauce – 1 tsp
  • Parsley, dried or fresh – ½ tsp

larder items

  • CSA Club Stock – 1 ½ c + ¼ c + 2 c ( ~1 qt total)
  • Green Garlic Salt – ¼ tsp + ¼ tsp
  • Spring Onion Salt – ¼ tsp + ¼ tsp
  • Pickled Cherry Tomato Liquid – ¼ c
    • Could use any pickle liquid
    • Substitute: Apple Cider Vinegar

tools

Food processor

Directions

mise

  1. The night before;
    1. Soak the beans in plenty of water. I like to do this in a quart deli, filling it to the top with water. 
    2. Thaw the CSA Club stock, if needed
  2. The day of, drain the soaked beans, rinse, and then add to a small pot. Also add two cups of CSA Club stock, cumin, coriander and oregano and fill the pot to ¾ full with water.
  3. Bring the pot to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the beans are cooked through and soft. This will take ~45 mins to an hour, depending on the freshness of your beans.
  4. In the meantime, prep your vegetables;
    1. Dice the onion.
    2. Rough chop the collards, including stems.
    3. Slice the banana pepper
    4. In a medium pan over medium high heat, add ~2T oil and bring up to a simmer. 
    5. Add the onion and collard stems and a pinch of salt, and cook until the onion is translucent, ~3-4 mins
    6. Add the collards and peppers, toss to coat with oil, and cook until the collards are wilted, ~4-5 mins
    7. Add the ¼ c pickle liquid and ¼ c stock, toss and cook until all the liquid has evaporated, ~5 mins
    8. Once the liquid is cooked out, kill the heat and set aside.
  5. Once the beans are cooked, kill the heat, add two pinches of salt and allow to soak so at least 10 mins. Then drain the beans.
  6. Add the cooked vegetables, beans, ¼ tsp Green Garlic salt, and ¼ tsp Spring Onion Salt to a processor and pulse for ~ 30 seconds until the mixture is uniform in small pieces, resembling a hash, but not yet a paste. Remove to a small bowl or other container.
  7. Make the masa;
    1. Add 3 c masa harina, 2 pinches of salt, and 2 ¾ c of liquid (the remaining stock, plus water) to a large bowl, and mix until homogenous. The dough should be a consistency similar to soft play-dough. A ball of it shouldn’t crack if pressed. Add more liquid if needed. Rest 5 mins.
    2. Portion the dough into 14 balls. If you have a scale, each ball should be ~ 75g.
  8. Make the mayo dip;
    1. In a small bowl, add the mayo, ¼ tsp Green Garlic salt, ¼ tsp Spring Onion Salt, ½ tsp parsley, and 1 tsp hot sauce of choice. 
    2. Taste and adjust if needed. Feel free to also use any other seasonings/flavors that you’d like!

cook

  1. Preheat a large pan over medium heat. Add enough oil to lightly coat the pan.
  2. Form the pupusas;
    1. Slightly wet your hands to prevent the masa from sticking
    2. In your hand, flatten a portioned ball of masa into a flat disc about the size of your palm. 
    3. To the center of the masa disc, add a pinch of cheese and ~ 1T of the veggie filling.
    4. Bring the edges of the masa together, pinching them closed to trap the filling forming a half moon shape.
    5. Gently push the tips of the moon into the center to form a ball, then carefully flatten into a disk, again about the size of your palm.
    6. Drop your formed pupusa onto your preheated pan.
  3. Repeat forming the pupusa until your pan is filled.
  4. Flip the pupusas about ~ 5 mins. Continue flipping about every 5 mins until the pupusas are a golden brown, on the edge of dark.
  5. Transfer to a plate, and hold warm.

plate

Serve warm along with the mayo dip, and any other sides you’d like!